We’ve all been there – that small panic when utterly lost, a sudden illness in a strange land or after 17 hours of hot, dusty travel an unexpected kindness makes clear why we call ourselves members of the human race.
If you’re a travel journalist, you’ve been in unexpected difficulties numerous times in some of Earth’s iconic locations. If you’re an active traveler, exploring and taking risks, getting out of one’s comfort zone is taken for granted. Getting back in often requires help – unexpected kindness.
The Annamite Mountains divide Vietnam’s one thousand mile strip of mountains and beaches along the Pacific Ocean. The south is tropical year round, but northern winters can be cold and damp. Political upheaval in the late 18th century led to the Nguyen Dynasty’s triumphant unification of the northern and southern factions in the early 1800s.
The Imperial City, Hue
Yet political upheaval seems to have been the natural order often until 1975. The end of America’s Vietnam War allowed the Vietnamese to concentrate on what they enjoy the most — doing business. Whether it’s a BMW auto dealership in Hanoi or a convenience store in a rowboat on a bay, the Vietnamese are capitalists. It’s part of the throb of real life in Vietnam.
Part of life is also stunning natural beauty, crazy traffic, the silence of fog on a bay and the iridescence of a fresh pearl just shucked from its shell. One trip is not enough. This exploration highlights five key destinations in the north.
“The idea of the Laos government is to become the battery of Southeast Asia,” Robert Zoellick, World Bank president, Time, 12/09/2010
According to the teachings of the Buddha, life is comparable to a river. It moves from cause to cause, effect to effect, one point to another, one state of existence to another, giving an outward impression that it is one continuous and unified movement, where as in reality it is not. So does life. It changes continuously, becomes something or other from moment to moment. (The Buddhist Concept of Impermanence)
Is Laos in the 19th century racing towards the 21st? Not since the 1970’s has this most relaxed of southeast Asian societies faced the prospect of monumental changes globalization is bringing to this ancient land. In a series of articles for Suite101 and the Examiner, I explore these shifting forces even as I experience centuries of tradition.
Muang Ngoi on the Nam Ou, Laos
Forested mountains and ethnic villages may dominate photos of northern Laos, but it’s the region’s swift rivers an energy hungry southeast Asia covets.
In the misty mountain provincial capital of Luang Namtha in northern Laos, a mere 50 miles from the Chinese border, a traveler would not normally expect to enjoy a perfect grilled cheese sandwich, stuffed with banana, while sipping a shot of Lao Lao.
In the far north of Laos, overlooking the swift flowing Nam Oh River as it cuts a path through towering forest covered limestone mountains, the Nong Kiau Riverside Resort and Restaurant melts into the lush countryside.
An aromatic mix of onions, garlic, herbs and chili enveloping slices of fresh fish fillet may be the ingredients for Mok Pa, but the banana leaves are the secret.
galangal, on left, is darker, related but not the same as ginger, on right
Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam have been on the Asian trade routes to Europe for millennium. Southeast Asia was adept at fusing earlier European, Chinese and Japanese culinary influences and a century of Western colonial cuisine. The kitchens at restaurants of today’s tourist route destinations continue to preserve the past as well as innovate.
Laotian cuisine, like the nation, is much more than that land between Thailand and Vietnam. Neither as sweet nor spicy as its neighbors, the dishes of Laos are multi-layered creations of herbs, greens, meats, fish, vegetables and spices not used in Western cooking. Yum Kai Tom is one such dish that’s both easy to master as well as being quintessential Laos.
ingredients for Yum Kai TomArthouse Cafe
There’s no lack of fine restaurants in Laos’ UNESCO World Heritage City of Luang Prabang. Once the royal and spiritual capital of several southeast Asian kingdoms, Luang Prabang epitomizes tropical post-colonial romanticism. The historic core rests high on a peninsula and restaurants take advantage of the spectacular mountain scenery of northern Laos. The Arthouse Cafe, on Kingkitsarath Road, is no exception.
Purple sticky rice
Luang Prabang’s popular and excellent Tamarind Restaurant makes a terrific Khao Gam.
Stuffed Lemongrass is delicious, as the lemongrass permeates the meat with its citrus flavor.
Stuffed Lemongrass
Vientiane, the capital of Laos, has no lack of interesting dining opportunities from a vibrant street food scene to the legendary Mekong River at sunset providing a stunning backdrop for a relaxing dinner at the Kong View Restaurant.
Kong View restaurant, Vientiane, Laos
A tuk-tuk full of saffron robed monks pass by the entrance to Ban Vilaylac. Their Wat is directly across the street. Appropriate location since Ban Vilaylac’s potted garden entrance bridges centuries of traditional Vientiane and French colonial Laos cuisine. Next door, reservations for either lunch or dinner are hard to come by at Makphet Restaurant, yet there are no celebrity chefs, yet the lines of appreciative diners can be long.
view from the Charming Lao Hotel
Much overlooked, Laos north central town of Oudomxai is surrounded by stunning scenery to view while enjoying good Laotian cuisine at The Charming Lao Hotel.
Stuffed squid at Dibuk Restaurant
In a building as old as many bistros in Paris, under ceiling fans stirring the languid tropical air, guests of the Dibuk Restaurant in Thailand’s old Phuket Town can spend time dining with the Indian Ocean lapping nearby.
Tom Kha Gai and its ingredientsChef Wan at Look-In restaurant
The Look-in Restaurant, just off Bangkok’s busy Sukhumvit Road, is not on most visitors’ tourist map – not yet.
Tom Kha Gai, Thailand’s incomparable coconut soup with chicken and flavored with galangal is a Look-in knockout.
The finest restaurant in Vietnam’s capital of Hanoi is also its most fascinating. Koto, next to the Temple of Learning, is in an elegant, three-story French Art Nouveau townhouse.
Koto, Hanoi, Vietnam
There’s a quiet side to Cambodia’s bustling Siem Reap, home to Angkor Wat, on the banks of the Siem Reap River. The town’s best restaurant and small hotel, Bopha, is located at 512 Acharsva Street facing the east bank. It’s a haven of calm.
at Bopha, Siem Reap, Cambodia: traditional fish stew
Pho at La Viet
The Italian Market/Queen Village district, to any resident of Philadelphia, is inexorably morphing into a little Southeast Asia. A stroll through these historic colonial neighborhoods provides visual evidence of Asian grocery stores, restaurants and professional offices catering to this increasing community. The area around 11th Street and Washington Avenue includes a sizable number of Asian businesses and one very good Vietnamese fine dining restaurant, Le Viet.
Butterfish at Kinnaree restaurant
Set in an unassuming strip mall in suburban Philadelphia, Kinnaree Thai French Cuisine balances traditional Thai dishes with centuries old French influences.
You can read more articles by Marc d’Entremont at:
From post-revolutionary obscurity, the once ancient kingdom of Champasak is at the center of southern Laos’ eco-tourism incentive.
On Don Khone, the Siphandon, Champasak Province, Laos
Cheap airfares, especially from Australia, and even cheaper cost of living attracted budget seekers of alternative vacations in the early 1990’s to the sleepy isolated islands of the Siphandon.
The Siphandon (4,000 Islands), from Don Khong, Champasak Province, Laos
Just 25 miles from the Cambodian border, Laos’ Mekong spreads up to 8 miles wide creating a delta-like region, the Siphandon, sheltering human and wildlife.
Hotel Senesothxeune and the Siphandon
Don Deth and Don Khone epitomize the Western vision of a tropical existence, sleeping in a hammock with mosquito netting, playing the guitar at night, picking fruit and spending as little money as possible.
Purple sticky rice: this nutty deep purple variety of Laos’ ubiquitous grain is usually reserved for desserts. Although a festive addition to dinner and delicious even when not sweetened, I was reminded of my favorite recipe for Purple Sticky Rice in Coconut Sauce.
varieties of sticky rice
You can read about all these topics in my latest articles on Suite101:
Four cities, three countries, four restaurants serving superior food, providing community training and accepting reservations – you’ll need one.
Place setting at Koto, Hanoi, VietnamCarrot cake at Koto, Hanoi, Vietnam
Koto, Hanoi, Vietnam (Know One, Teach One), founded in 1996 by Australian Vietnamese Jimmy Pham, has set the standard for grassroots not-for-profit restaurant ventures.
Forest Refuge & Papaya Cafe, Luang Namtha, Laos
Trekking first brought Karen and Andrej Brummer from New Zealand to Luang Namtha, just like nearly all visitors. Yet they soon felt a desire to remain and do something: Forest Refuge Bamboo Lounge.
Cabbages & Condoms Restaurant, Bangkok, Thailand, is famous, amusing and serious. Where else in Southeast Asia will there be a condom decorated Christmas Tree.
I tried to dine at Makphet three times during two trips to the Laotian capital of Vientiane. Given the hype about this must-go-to restaurant, I was pleased that the experience was worth the wait.
Ingredients for Yum Khi Tom
A classic recipe, Yum Kai Tom incorporates all the basics that elevate Laos cuisine to a food experience.
Interior of Dibuk Restaurant, Phuket Town, Thailand
For the best bistro (far) east of Paris, try Dibuk Restaurant, old Phuket Town, Phuket Island, Thailand – no joke.
Bangkok, Thailand and Vientiane, Laos provide an abundance of eateries from street vendors to luxury hotel venues like Bangkok’s Centara Grand Hotel’s 55th/56th floor Red Sky dining room and Sky Bar.
Bangkok from the Sky Bar on the 56th floor of the Centara Grand Hotel
Yet in remote villages, some reachable only by boat, tools invented centuries ago are still used for preparing important aspects of traditional cooking such as sticky rice, eaten at every meal.
Sticky Rice drying in the sun
Grains of sticky rice are sun dried and then the hard hull must be broken and sifted away using large woven baskets. The young mother of this household gave me permission to film her children providing the power to operate the hull cracking tool.
The abundance of South East Asia’s food supply is not lost on its restaurants.
Mekong River at sunset from the Kong View Restaurant
In the Laotian capital, Vientiane’s Kong View provides beautiful vistas of the Mekong River while preparing excellent dishes such as salt grilled river fish.
Ban Vilaylac, Vientiane, Laos
On a quiet street within the historic French colonial core of Vientiane, reservations may be necessary on weekends for Dining at Ban Vilaylac.
View from, and interior of, Tamarind Cafe, Luang Prabang, Laos
Long the ancient royal capital of Laos’ many national permutations, Luang Prabang was a favorite of the French during their century of domination with their architecture, but not their cuisine, influencing and complimenting the Laotians own superb sensibilities. The city is stunning, serene and a foodie mecca.
Ban Phousy Morning Market, Luang Prabang, Laos
Laos and its food is fascinating, relaxed, less spicy and refined.
Ban Phousy Market, Luang Prabang, Laos
In a city known for its cooking classes, Tamarind offers unique full day experiences starting with a shopping expedition to the morning market.
spices, herbs and rice: Luang Prabang, Laos
Read more at Suite101 – my latest Featured Article on the Food & Drink page’s Culinary Tourism section, including the recipe.
You are reading that correctly: “…every effort to appear civilized.” The author was Aleko E. Lilus and the article, “The Old Seaport of the Sulu Pirates,” appreared in the highly popular monthly magazine Travel, October 1931 (Robert M. McBride & Co., Camden, NJ). I did not seek out this magazine. This classic of Western mores illustrated through travel was a recent gift knowing full well my interest in antiques and popular culture through the ages.
cover of the Oct. 1931 edition, illustration by Frank Newbould
Travel (1902-2003) “…was reflective of the world at the time…” (Contextualization, Clay Dillon) and let’s remember the time. 1931: the depth of the greatest world economic depression ever, Fascism was flourishing in Italy with many European and American supporters, the Nazi Party was gaining ground in Germany, the Western empires controlled most of Asia, Africa and South America. In the USA the Klu Klux Klan was terrorizing and murdering African Americans, Jews and Catholics – and not just in the south – and the United States shut the immigration door to all but white Christian Western Europeans.
Yet for the affluent who could travel, and the majority that could only dream through films and lavishly illustrated magazines, this was the “Golden Age” of Aryan dominance – the opportunity for the “savage” to rise above his station. Travel writers could transport minds from a three room Hoboken apartment to exotic lands, “educating” their audience that there were people that had it “far worse” than you had it at home.
children gathering grapes in France, 1931, page 20“land of boundless opportunity for the man of business”
The articles run the gamut from the cathedrals of Mexico, the American Southwest, the vineyards of France, a once great Medieval European city to the wilds of Australia. Yet the language used to describe non-Western cultures was far different than those used for lands closer to home.
“The sultan’s niece…became a co-ed of the University of Illinois. She was thoroughly Westernized, but on her return…she promptly forgot her pretty American ways…and went native…As an educational and social experiment she must be considered a complete failure.” (p.25).
“Some of them…have bought Fords…but in the back country they still shoot bows and arrows and have never heard they belong to a vanishing race…” (p.28 “Exploring the Southwest in Your Own Motor” by Harry Fergusson).
“They love their children but they are inclined to spoil them for discipline comes hard to the southern mind..” (p.17 “Malta – Stronghold of the Sea King” by Francis Mc Dermott).
“The Spanish Colonials…upon this land they called “New Spain” … lavished their genius, endowing it with…civilization…” (p.7 “The Glory of Mexico’s Cathedrals” by James Jenkins).
Soochow, China, photo by M. O. Williams, p.33illustration for a Cunard Line ad.
Travel was a gorgeous magazine, especially its stunning black and white photography and its advertising illustrations. In researching the history of Travel, it was second only to The National Geographic in readership for an audience interested in the world outside the United States. Indeed the last article in the October 1931 issue was on Australia’s unique animal life, “Nature’s Side Show in Australia” by Georgia Maxwell.
Clif Dwellings, Canyon de Chelly, Arizona, photo by Ewing Galloway, p. 27
Naturally, for any modern traveler, 1931 prices for hotels and steam ships seem absurdly inexpensive until one factors what a 1931 dollar purchased compared to today – $16.00 for what $1.00 was worth during the Great Depression.
The queen of Philadelphia’s hotels, the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, had rooms as low as $4/day in the depth of the Depression – cheap but these were teaser rates especially if you didn’t have a job. A 12-day cruise to the Bahamas started at $125 ($2,000 in 2011 dollars) and the French Railways campaign that “Everybody’s back” speaks to today’s ads urging the weary to travel once more.
I well remember this anticipated magazine that arrived at my home every month as a child. I also believed for many years that Mark Twain was correct, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness,” but life has taught me that even the great Twain was a victim of wishful thinking.
As a travel journalist I’ll be the first to praise the work I’m fortunate enough to enjoy, yet I’m well aware of the fine line that separates being the eyes of the reader from the human that may color the picture with their own cultural prejudices.
Travel with Pen and Palate 
You must be logged in to post a comment.